Genesis
by Shaymunie
Summary: Everything begins and everything ends. The question is... when will it end? [Slow Build/Long Story - warnings can be found at: x-oath-x.tumblr . com / aboutgen]
1. Part 1 - The Beginning of Never

\- Simple Days is not cancelled/abandoned  
\- I'm cross-posting this from my AO3 account: x(underscore)Oath(underscore)x  
\- This is a a guaranteed to be finish story - it'll just take a while.  
\- Normal updating schedule: Ever second and/or fourth Sunday each month.  
\- The first five chapters are already posted on AO3/are currently being edited for here.  
\- For more info on what this story will be about, please check my tumblr under the: x-Oath-x url

Please enjoy!

* * *

 _"Do you really have to go?"_

 _"I think so... hey, if you jump over, you might be able to come with me! … No, wait! It's too dangerous!"_

* * *

"Naruto, look out!"

"Huh?!" He barely had the time to swerve out the way from the tree that was he was quickly approaching. As he skid to a stop, a little ways away to catch his breath and his thoughts.

It was not long before he heard the light footfalls of his teacher slow to a stop someways in front of him. It forced his other two teammates to skid to a stop on the dirt path. Yet, they did manage to do so without hitting each other or their teacher.

One was a young girl with lovely pink hair that reached well past her shoulders. She wore fuchsia dress with white trimming and a white circle on her back. It was tight around her chest (or lack of thereof), but flowed free past her waist. The sides were split apart, revealing not only the green leggings underneath but the weapons bag strapped to her leg. Her shoes were dark blue and were open-toed. Her face was scrunched up in the face of irritation and confusion as she stared at her teammate with vibrant green eyes. Sakura Haruno.

Another was a young boy with a blank face that only seemed to know the expressions of detachment, smugness, and disgust. His chosen expression for the moment was one of detachment. His outfit was simple and uncomplicated – white shorts and dark blue shirt with a high collar. He had white armbands with blue trims on his arm and a weapons bag on his leg. One his feet were the same open-toed sandals. His black hair, dark grey eyes, and pale skin gave off the atmosphere made him stand out against his teammates. Sasuke Uchiha.

Their teacher's outfit was the most uncomplicated with a green flak jacket and a navy blue shirt and pants. Black fingerless gloves with metal slides on the backs were his only self-imposed accessory. Silver hair was brushed to the left side of his face while a blue ski mask covered pretty much everything else besides his right eye. As like his teammates, their sensei also wore blue, open-toed shoes. It was hard to get a good read on his facial expressions, but sometimes his emotions could leak through his tone of voice. Kakashi Hatake.

He wore a bright orange jumpsuit, himself. The shoulders had a blue section that was cut off before making it past his collar bone and above the blue was a white collar that protected his neck. His blue eyes, shaggy blond hair, and three whisker marks on each of his cheeks gave him a wild look. He was often told by his teammates that he was loud and obnoxious, but his sensei praised him for his unpredictability and ability to make the best out of dire situations. Naruto Uzumaki.

They all looked different, but they were the same. They were shinobi – ninja. They all bore the mark of their village, Konohagakure [Village Hidden in the Leaves], on their headbands which they wore with pride on their heads (or over an eye in Kakashi's case).

They had been on their way home after a mission in Nami no Kuni [The Land of the Waves]. While it was successful, it had been incredibly dangerous and trying on them all. Ever since then, they had all been on high alert despite their surroundings being peaceful. It was only once they were safe behind the walls of home would they be able to relax their tense and wary muscles and minds.

So that is why, when Naruto had faintly mumbled something under his breath, his sensei wasted no time in stopping everyone else to inquire more about it. "Yes?"

Instantly, Naruto was on the defensive with a smile so wide he had to close his eyes and exaggerated arm movements. "Eh? Nothing! Nothing! I said nothing!"

Sakura sniffed disdainfully next to him, crossing her arms as she said, "So you had us stop in the middle of the journey home for nothing?" She then turned her eyes at Sasuke, flirtingly blinking multiple times as she searched his face for approval. "He's such an idiot, isn't he, Sasuke-kun?"

While Naruto visibly deflated at the girl's dejection, Sasuke turned away from his team with an annoyed frown. "If you had paid attention, it was Kakashi who had stopped us; not the dobe [dead last/idiot]."

Uncaring of the now deflated Sakura and the glare he was receiving from Naruto, he moved his attention to his spectating teacher. "Well?"

The older man didn't answer Sasuke, having spent the time his team spent arguing between themselves staring at Naruto. Moments later, Kakashi inquired about Naruto's behavior.

"You've been quiet since we left Nami no Kuni. While it was great to have the silence," At this, Kakashi easily waved off the glare Naruto was now aiming at him,"- it's not like you. If there's anything on your mind that's distracting you, get it out in the air so it's not a distraction later. A ninja should always be vigilant regardless of their inner thoughts, especially if you're oh-so positive that you'll be the Hokage [Fire Shadow]." The last statement was more of a tease on Naruto's loudly proclaimed goal, but it must've tickled Naruto's strive to be acknowledged as a potential leader for their home if the sudden fire in the boy's eyes were anything to go by.

"Of course I'll be the Hokage!" Was the immediate and regurgitated response. However, a little after Naruto's determined face faltered slightly and trepidation clouded his eyes. Kakashi's raised an eyebrow at these observations; this really wasn't like Naruto at all. Now he really wanted to know what was bothering the blond ninja.

Sakura and Sasuke seemed to notice the change as well because they were eyeing their teammate with curiosity. While they didn't find it entirely something to worry about, they seemed prepared to react if Naruto's explanation turned out to be something of concern.

"It's just that…. Do you just feel like… there was someone that was there but just isn't anymore?"

As one, his team blinked.

"Wha-? Where did you get _that_ from?" Sakura asked in disbelief. Of course you had people that aren't there anymore – wouldn't that be the result of loved ones passing on? When her grandparents died three years ago, she had trudged around the next several weeks, feeling as if some part of her was missing. Unless Naruto is getting some incredibly late emotions about his parents' death, she didn't understand what Naruto was talking about.

Naruto didn't answer right away, but rather frowned. He didn't know how to explain it because the details of the feeling itself were unknown to him.

"I don't really know… I was just thinking-" Sasuke snorted, earning himself another glare from the blond, "And one of the things that came to mind was of a promise I made to someone."

Their teacher tilted their head in interest at that. While he was glad it didn't sound too dangerous, he couldn't help but wonder who Naruto had promised. It had to be someone he wasn't familiar with or didn't live in Konoha or else Naruto would've identified them. The boy seemed to have a remarkable memory for physical features. "Do you know who was it was you promised?"

They stood there for a little while, anticipating the response. After a minute, Naruto's shoulders slumped and he shook his head negatively.

Sakura frowned at him, a little annoyed that they might have just wasted their time standing there. The only female shinobi of the group was relieved when Kakashi signaled for them to press on after nodding and telling Naruto that if he remembered anything else, he was free to tell them. She was right on her teacher's tail when he ran forward towards home.

Sasuke and Naruto still stood there with Naruto side-eyeing the other with suspicion. The dark-haired boy stared after the rest of their team as they ran ahead for a little while.

"Do you remember what you promised?"

Naruto almost jumped out of his skin at the question, inducing a confused stare from the other. After blinking several times, Naruto matched the stare with his own; Sasuke didn't seem riveted by his distracted musings a little while ago. Cautiously, Naruto said, "Yeah. To not forget them."

"Hmp." Sasuke snorted again and looked up at Naruto with a deadpan expression. "Since you only seemed to remember it now, I'd say that you didn't keep it."

Naruto scowled and looked away, feeling betrayed by himself. As one of his biggest guidelines in life to never break a promise, it hurt to know that he had done so without knowing it. It hurt even more that Sasuke, of all people, was pointing it out.

"They'll forgive you."

The blond blinked and surprise and looked at his teammate. "Huh?"

Sasuke didn't answer the question, preferring to walk forward a couple steps while saying, "If you're suddenly remembering them now, it's probably because of something important."

He looked over his shoulder, "You'll see them again."

With that ominous statement hanging between them, Sasuke ran after his teammates, calling for Naruto to stop being a dead last and get a move on before they leave him behind. Naruto could only watch after the dark haired boy before he frowned.

Sasuke and him were on… strange terms to be frank. Naruto couldn't call them close friends by a long-shot, but he has trust in the other and he will have trust in his words.

It was then, a strange feeling came over him. His head slowly craned backwards so that his eyes met the sky. Leaves from the nearby trees obscured his vision as they swirled in the gusts of wind that blew faintly behind him. There were no clouds in the sky, not even if he tried to look past the horizon. It reminded him of that night – when all that covered the sky was the bright stars and the moon and the lights

 _"Hey, don't look so sad. I'll come back! I promise! And you – you have to be here when I do! Don't forget that!"_

His lips lifted upwards as he reminisced over the words of time long past. Finally done remembering promises of childhood, Naruto raced after his team, yelling out that they shouldn't have left him so far behind.

 _"I won't"!_

* * *

It had been several weeks since they returned from Nami no Kuni and Kakashi was beginning to wonder if Naruto was having nightmares at night.

The boy was incredibly jumpy and seemed to always be looking over his shoulder. When asked if he was okay, Naruto would vehemently deny himself doing such things.

Kakashi wasn't sure how to handle this situation because Naruto would just change the subject or deny it. But, he couldn't let it go on. Watching the young man walk around their village with circles under his eyes and sneaking wary glances over his shoulder was discomforting and worrying. Not only was it affecting Naruto, but also the team and slowly other shinobi and civilians. He's heard more than enough rumors of a "secret attack" or "chasing of the monster". He was sure Naruto has heard them too which probably made the kid feel worse about the situation.

That's why he had asked the Sandaime Hokage [The Third (Generation) Fire Shadow] for missions that busied the mind and left you so tired that you didn't even had the energy to dream. Catching Tora, delivery missions all over the Hi no Kuni [Fire Country], rigorous training exercises – Kakashi had his team do it all.

Even so, no matter how tired Naruto looked when he dragged himself home or how invested in the mission they were on, his condition only seemed to worsen. It was about the time where Kakashi felt like he had no other choice than to drag Naruto into the hospital for a diagnosis and medical care.

"Alright kiddies, that's a wrap." He said in a cheery voice, his one visible eye gazed over his panting students who barely had the energy to stare at him coldly at being referred to as "kiddies". They had just finished an all-out spar between each other so Kakashi could check their progress.

Despite whatever issues Naruto was having with his energy, they have all improved. In the past three weeks, they not only learned how to walk on water with chakra, but were starting to learn their own individual techniques.

He had decided to teach Sakura a more advanced move set than the academy style because it required being fast and on point, something Sakura lacked being. The new fighting style she was learning was more of a defensive style with multiple blocks and heavy-hitting punches and kicks. With the girl's mass amount of raw strength, it suited her. All she needed to work on was her stamina which she had spent the last several days doing.

Her exercise was to try and venture over frequently and highly disturbed water over the course of the day (hence why she is always sopping mess at the end of training due to all her falling). He had asked his dog summons for help by having them repeatedly jump in and out of the little lake he had set up in the back of the training field for her. She seemed extremely put out that her training was far away from Sasuke's, but was slowly improving. It was a win-win in his eyes, she improved at her skills and his dogs had their exercise for the day. After a couple weeks of doing this as well as many stamina runs, he had no doubt that she'd be able to hold her own in a five minute practice match against Sasuke and will come away from it sweating, but standing.

His self proclaimed "Konoha's Most Unpredictable Ninja" student was a tricky to figure out a teaching method for. Naruto doesn't even use the academy style. He preferred to wing it with random swings and kicks as well combinations with the Kage Bunshin Jutsu [Shadow Clone Technique]. Even though it was evident that Naruto worked better when allowed to perform to his own tune, Kakashi knew that, eventually, Naruto was going to have a pick a style and stick with it. He'll have to remind himself to introduce Naruto to some different taijutu styles before next year's Chuunin Exams came around as well as long-distance jutsu.

However, that didn't stop him from giving Naruto a training regimen to build off his already decent speed. While Naruto had a definite advantage in his unpredictability, if Naruto doesn't learn to back it up with the speed to get in and out, he will be overpowered. For his particular attack style to work, Naruto needed to be close with his enemy.

Kakashi had strapped Naruto's ankles with small weights and had him run to the top of the Hokage Mountain then walk back down only to repeat with a ten minutes of rest every other half hour. The goal was to increase Naruto's leg power so that when he pushed off the ground, he'd cover a longer distance. The weights were to also help increase the power in his legs for kicks since Naruto had plenty upper body strength due to his go-to attack being punching, but seemed to neglect using his legs.

The exercise was doing its job well; Naruto's normal walking movements were actually a little faster by default now. He could see that Naruto was also becoming more strategic about his attacks since another of his exercises was to run straight away from his lovable dog summons while having steak strapped to his behind. Once again, a win-win situation since Naruto could improve his agility and dodging techniques and his dogs got a treat for their efforts.

Sasuke was the easiest to teach – the Sharingan [Copy Wheel Eye] was the obvious technique to teach him. It would be preferred that Sasuke learned about his family's doujutsu [Eye Jutsu] from another family member. But, that would mean Sasuke would have to leave the safety of Konoha and search out his criminal older brother.

Obviously Kakashi was just going to have to do the best he could.

Sasuke was definitely enthusiastic about the subject. The boy probably thought the idea of his Sharingan being on par, if not above, his older brother's eyes to be rather appealing.

However, there was only so much Kakashi could teach someone with eyes of lower level than even his own transplanted eye. It'd be a while before he would be able to teach Sasuke any high level techniques, so he had Sasuke build up his stamina by having him perform katas and mundane tasks with the Sharingan activated. Regardless, Sasuke was improving, and doing so at his infamous quick learning rate.

Despite his previous attempts to get out of having his own genin team, he felt pretty accomplished in not only their lessons but also in what the genin themselves had learned. In a way, it was a surprise to note that all of them seemed willing to learn which made the entire process much easier. Maybe he can make this whole "teaching" gig work.

His team gathered in front of them, looking worn out. Naruto's jacket was open due to the zipper breaking when he skidded across the grass earlier and his entire front was plastered with bruises and dirt. He was gingerly rubbing his right cheek; he received quite a powerful punch from Sakura earlier. Sasuke's cheeks were scratched and his clothes looked disheveled with dirt and grass stains. Despite his messy appearance, there was an almost satisfied look on his face. Sakura, bent down with her hands on her knees, had grass stains and dirt visible on her person. Her hair was in complete disarray. He was sure that if she combed her hand through it (a habit that she has slowly stopped doing as her training got harsher), a few leaves and twigs would follow after.

In return for that punch, Naruto had seen fit to kick her straight into some prickly bushes nearby, leaving her with more than a just a bruise on her side. They had fought hard against each other – he wouldn't doubt if they were releasing pent up frustration. Inwardly feeling pity on them, Kakashi decided to give his opinion quickly and then send them on home to recuperate (and perhaps laugh a bit as he reminisced over some of the highlights of the fight).

"Good job to all of you! You've all done your best in this fight, but there were a lot of mistakes that made." He turned to Naruto first. "Naruto, you have a strong physical offense and take advantage of your speed in your attacks. However, you're greatest weakness is your lack of patience and timing. You tend to strike too early and dodge too late. Sakura and Sasuke got so many hits in on you that you look like you've fought against a tree… and lost. You also hesitated on the perfect hit on Sasuke's hip when he was fending Sakura off. Don't ever hesitate – it could be the difference between life and death."

Naruto appeared put off before his expression turned into a thoughtful scowl. Hopefully, he was thinking on ways to improve. Next, Kakashi faced Sakura who was giggling at Kakashi's tree comment.

"Compared to your fighting ability four months ago, you have improved all around. You still have a lot to do to catch up with Naruto and Sasuke, however. For now, we'll put our focus on your stamina. Like Naruto, you're impatient, but where as he has the stamina and quick thinking to make up for it, you can't keep up. You used your more powerful attacks too early in the fight. By the middle, you were already stumbling around, making it easy for Naruto to nail you in the side like he did."

The girl looked flabbergasted from her evaluation. She shot up, face indignant and a complaint on her tongue, but she didn't get far. Sakura seemed to regret the rushed actions when her hand flew to her right hip and she let out a loud hiss of pain. Naruto looked away a bit guiltily. Sasuke gave her a cursory glance before turning back to his teacher, knowing that he was next. The gray haired man shook his head at her before turning to his final student.

"Sasuke, you're already commendable with both jutsu and taijutsu. Now that your Sharingan has awakened, I have no doubts that your improvements will grow from here. But, you're too overconfident and because of that, you underestimate you opponent. It shows the most when you struggle to counterattack. I've watched you get a good move in, but Naruto or Sakura would recover faster than you expect and attack you head-on. I'll have you spar with Naruto and Sakura on the occasion so that you can work on in-action experience."

The Uchiha looked frustrated at his words. He eyed his teammates with wariness before nodding slowly. Taking it as a sign that Sasuke understood his shortcomings in the fight, Kakashi finally bid them good night. He assigned the next day off to recuperate and refresh before performing a couple D-Rank missions the following day. With a final wave, he was gone.

And as soon as he was, Naruto and Sakura plummeted to the ground with a groan while Sasuke barely held himself from joining them. They had been training non-stop both as a team and on their own so the thought of rest sounded like a personal paradise to each of them.

It was several minutes later did Sakura pick herself off the ground and dust off the dirt from her clothes. Then, turning awkwardly to face her teammates. Her eyes shifted to the left and she started to get into a pose that most would consider flirtatious what with her arms behind her back, head shifted downwards, and eyes half-lidded.

Already sensing what was coming, Sasuke inched away from her in repressed irritation. 'Not another date request.'

His inching brought him almost a hair's width away from Naruto who had only just picked himself up. Upon seeing how close Sasuke had gotten, he practically tripped backwards in his wild attempt to put space between them. When the blond managed to bring himself back on balance a few paces away, he turned angrily towards the rest of his teammates. "What the hell, Sasuke?"

Affronted, the Uchiha was quick to retort with, "What are you going on about now, idiot?"

"You practically tried to push me off the surface of the earth, you dick."

"What are you talking about, usurantonkachi [idiot/thin hammer]?"

Snarling, Naruto gave Sasuke the middle finger to which both Sasuke and Sakura blinked at. "Don't call me that, you asshole!"

Sasuke looked like he wanted to say something more but instead huffed and looked the other way, not noticing that Naruto mirrored his actions without noticing Sasuke either. , Sakura timidly chewed at her lip. 'It's been so weird lately. I thought we were all getting along since Nami no Kuni. Am I missing something?'

Unsure of whether her opinion would be welcome in such an atmosphere, Sakura resolved to turn around and walk home. She tried to hide her feelings of dejection as she walked. At one point, she chanced a look back on her teammates. They seemed to be going their own separate way while keeping a certain distance between themselves.

Her face became troubled. Just like that, her teammates had resolved their issue without her interference. Would they had kept on if she had said something? What if they were fighting against the enemy? What if she was so afraid she couldn't move – all the while her teammates were pulling all the weight? The thought didn't sit well with her at all and she felt her mood worsen. 'I wonder if they think I'm in the way…'

Sakura didn't know how long she stood there, watching the backs of her departing teammates. Her only clue was the stars in the sky as well as a patrolling ninja worriedly shaking her shoulder.


	2. P1 - Part 2

High above the ground of Naruto's home, even higher than the sky itself, a small red ship cruised by the village, several thousands of kilometers away. Far away enough to not be sucked into the orbit of the world, and close enough that one could see five large villages with different elemental symbols. The ship was at the right position to be able to distinguish it from the many other worlds that occupied the Other Sky.

Inside the ship was a team of three sitting in the only available seats. The interior was a sea green color with many windows surrounding them to reveal the beauty of space. Many shiny buttons that shined countless colors highlighted the space in front of the pilot's seat.

That seat was occupied by a duck who went by the name of Donald. He wore a crisp blue jacket and hat with many zippers. His expertise was magic and keeping a cap on his short fuse. Regardless of his horrid temper, it did not stop Donald from becoming the Royal Magician under the rule of King Mickey and Queen Minnie Mouse.

He was equipped with magic skills that came short below only a few other magic users; the greats and professionals like Merlin the Wizard. Silver bangles bounced up and down from his wrists as he guided the ship pass large hunks of gummi blocks. On the left of him, on the armrest was a rather well-dressed cricket who went by the name of Jiminy Cricket. He was to document and jot down notes and stories of whatever happened on their journey under the orders of Queen Minnie. Between them both, it was a conversation of soft mumbling and inquiring about the notes Jiminy had made about the last world they've been to.

After reconciling in Deep Jungle, they had found a strange gummi that fit well with another similar looking gummi they had found in Wonderland. They returned to Traverse Town briefly to ask Cid about it only to have the man explain that together, they formed a Navigation gummi. Navigation gummis use the energy radiated by a world's heart to hone in and create decipherable pathways to them. This meant that, once installed, they could travel further to other worlds without worry of getting lost and wasting gas.

However, modifications to the royal gummi ship had to be physically approved by the king or queen. That's why Donald was flying the ship back to Disney Castle to retrieve the signed slip Queen Minnie had prepared once learning the situation via radio.

Behind him on his right, a dog dressed in the bold colors of a green sweater under a sleeveless black zipper jacket, golden pants, and a rather goofy looking hat on his head. He had busied himself with working on a crossword as they waited to approach the next world. He kept to his namesake, Goofy, with his wonky walking style and arbitrary techniques of fighting and solving problems. However, considering that 9 out of 10 times, his plans worked, he had easily ascended the ladder to be the Captain of King Mickey's Royal Guard.

The last, a young boy with incredibly messy caramel hair had been occupying himself with watching the gummi blocks go by and looking at the distant lights of worlds they had yet to arrive at. He wore a bright red jumpsuit under a short-sleeved white and black-trimmed jacket. When his blue eyes spotted the world, they were filled with wonder and amazement. He was quick to point it out.

"Hey look, a new world!" At the exclamation, Donald brought the ship to a halt. He looked a bit peeved at Sora for shouting, but his irritation was forgotten as he saw the world for himself.

Goofy turned his head to look over Sora's shoulder. "Hum… it don't look very famil'ar. I don't think it was there the last time we came by." He turned to Donald. "Any idea what'sits called?"

"Chip? Dale?" Donald called out the two navigators' names. Two chipmunks wearing aprons that proudly showed off the King's insignia known as the 'Hidden Mickey' popped onto the screen next to the steering wheel with a hand to their head in a salute. Sora and Goofy waved enthusiastically at them which made Donald roll his eyes good-naturedly at them. Turning to the two chipmunks, he asked, "What can you tell us about that world?"

The engineers quickly moved about on their side of the screen as they gathered data from the readings Donald got from a brief scan over the world. After a moment, they reappeared on the screen, ready to report their findings.

"Well, we haven't been able to find a name in the world library. It's quite reclusive even with the broken walls and pathways between the worlds. Based on its readings, it has a strong cloak of energy around it that blocked off most of the scan so we couldn't get much out of that. Not much else is known but there is this interesting tidbit-"

"We haven't found a single trail of Heartless anywhere!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy recoiled in shock at the statement.

"What? Not a single Heartless?" Donald gawked.

"Not even an antenna!" Dale retorted, sounding just as surprised at the revelation as everyone else. After a moment, Sora's expression relaxed into a thoughtful face.

"Do you guys think that cloak thing is what's keeping them away?"

Chip shrugged. "It's hard to tell since this is our first encounter, but it very well could be. It _did_ block our scan. It very well could be blocking the Heartless from the world, too."

All five of them sat in marvel at a world that had its own self-defense against darkness made real. Something special had to be going on in that world for such a thing to even exist. Donald and Goofy wondered if it was anything like the defense they had at home, while Sora wondered just what that cloak of energy could possibly be. Curious, Sora placed a hand over the window, looking at the world once more. Honestly, from this view it didn't look like anything special, and yet…

"… Even if there's no Heartless, it still has a Keyhole right?"

Goofy turned to him, a little confused by the statement. "Well yeah. Ev'ry world hasa keyhole."

"Then, shouldn't we check it out at least?" Sora asked. Then, he winced involuntarily as he remembered their altercation before crash landing in Deep Jungle and backtracked. "I mean, even if the King or Riku or Kairi aren't there, it's still in danger of being lost to the Heartless if whatever is keeping them away stops working."

"Yeah. And Aerith asked us to seal the keyholes, too." Goofy said with excitement as he just remembered the conversation they had with their friends in Traverse Town. Sora nodded enthusiastically with him while Donald looked on unimpressed.

Watching his companions converse excitedly about the new world, the wizard felt that they were forgetting one crucial detail.

"But what about the Queen and her signature? We've already promised we'd be there tomorrow at the latest!"

Sora froze and then frowned. "We can't just tell her the situation and get an extension?"

When Donald visibly twitched, Sora knew that he had said the wrong thing. Right before the duck could open his mouth, Goofy, thankfully, stepped in to calmly explain. "We can try but we might lose time."

Donald heaved a sigh, exhaling his earlier irritation in the process, "Goofy's right. We need to find the King quickly before any more worlds are lost. Getting that signature is the number one priority at the moment."

The Keyblade Wielder nodded, understanding their point. However—he looked back at the world as Donald prepared for them to go airborne once more. Sora couldn't let them pass this world by.

He could remember how terrified he was when his world was swallowed by the darkness. Shadows appeared wherever he stepped and his mere wooden sword didn't deter them in the slightest. Sora remembered those glowing yellow eyes staring at him with claws poised for attack. He remembered their sting, and how until he received the Keyblade and its protection from the Heartless' darkness, they had crippled whatever limb they had scratched.

If he had just known that he could've stopped it all by sealing away the Keyhole to his world, then maybe…

"WAIT!"

Donald and Goofy nearly fell out of their chairs from Sora's sudden exclamation. Donald was about to turn and demand why Sora suddenly yelled, but Sora beat him to it. "What if I go down there by myself while you guys get the signature?"

The two froze.

Donald felt conflicted. He was a strict follower of what his best friend had told him. "Follow the Keyblade Master" the message had said, and by doing so, he'd find King Mickey and, perhaps, a solution to the Heartless situation. His and Goofy's initial idea was to use Sora to find the King, fervently ignoring whatever plans the boy had himself in the process. To him, finding the King was more important than any of that.

However, come Deep Jungle, Donald had finally realized that Sora had his own agenda and his own personal morals. He abides by none of the rules stated to him, choosing rather to follow what he thought was best in his heart. Before, such an attitude had been Donald's bane. But now, he was starting to think that it wasn't such a bad thing. After all, if Sora wasn't with them, Alice from Wonderland could have ended up with her head chopped off.

And Donald and Goofy would have done nothing. They would've reproachfully walked away, determined to let the "world's order" take care of the issue.

Donald supposed that whatever made Sora so hung up about this world was another one of those hunches that had helped them find the other part of the Navigation Gummi in Deep Jungle and come to Alice's aid in Wonderland. Even if it wasn't something that would directly or obviously benefit their search, it would still be something Sora would put his best towards. In return, Donald saw no reason why he shouldn't put his own best foot forward.

"… Alright." Ignoring the bewildered stare from Goofy and Sora, Donald continued on. "It shouldn't take us long for us to get our home world and come back here for you."

There was a stunned silence between them. Out of them all, Donald was by far the most stubborn of them all, so for him to consent so easily was mind boggling. All the same, Sora couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face before he began nodding wildly. "Right! I got it. Then, we can head back to Traverse Town so Cid can get the gummi installed."

His grin grew upon Donald's agreeing nod.

Goofy looked between his two friends. He wondered if there was some sort of non-verbal compromise that was happening underneath this agreement after their last argument. The soldier inwardly shook his head and put on a large smile. He had felt bad for the way they pushed aside what Sora wanted for the sake of finding the King when they had promised to help him find his friends. Now that they had reconciled, he had felt that their friendship had shifted to something more trustworthy and reliable than one of convenience and lies.

Not wanting to be left out, he barked out, "It shouldn't take us long to come back. 'Bout two or three days at the most." He turned to Donald for confirmation.

The duck nodded. "Three days is the best bet."

Sora's head bobbed up and down excitedly and he got out of his chair to walk to the deport pit that was behind the cockpit He took a quick moment to grab some items and munny for the trip from the storage compartment. His friends watched him, Goofy with a fond smile and Donald trying in vain to hide his concern.

"Now, you be careful! Just because the Heartless seem to be keeping away from this world doesn't mean that you shouldn't be on your guard. Who knows what you'll find! Try to find the keyhole and maybe even how they're repelling the Heartless. Jiminy will be with you to document everything, just in case." At this, Jiminy jumped onto Sora's shoulder.

Sora and him were able to exchange a small smile between them before he disappeared into Sora's hood for safety. Donald gave him a once-over to check that he was ready. Satisfied, he turned back around in his seat and pressed several buttons. "I'm sending you down now."

A white sphere started to form around him starting from his waist and forming down and up to his feet and head respectively. It was the safest way to send someone down if the ship wasn't going to land on the world itself.

"Good luck Sora, Jiminy!" Donald cried over his shoulder.

"Bye-bye, we'll miss ya lots~!" Goofy said, waving at Sora.

Grinning softly at the kind farewells, Sora wasted no time in replying just as the sphere was completed. "Bye, Goofy! Donald!"

With one press of the button, Sora was sent down into the Reign of the Ninja.


	3. P1 - Part 3

The first thing Sora noticed upon arriving in the new world was that it was ridiculously hard to breathe. Every breath was a struggle and it took everything he had to not choke on air.

The second thing he noticed was that Kingdom Key had summoned itself into his hand. If he was to be honest, he had little idea of where the hell it went when it wasn't in his hand.

The third thing he noticed was that it was glowing and consequently, causing _him_ to glow as well.

He could faintly remember another time like this, when he was falling into Deep Jungle. The Keyblade had come to his hand in mid-fall. While he was busy being surprised at its sudden appearance, it had began to glow. It traveled all over his body, surrounding him in its comforting light before it had suddenly dispersed itself just in time for him to crash headfirst into the treehouse.

When he had gotten up from the ordeal, he was actually surprised that he actually did get up with nothing more than a slightly jostled body and mild headache. Sora supposed that whatever that light was had helped him, just the way it was helping him now considering that each breath was getting easier to take in.

Sora sat up from his place on the ground, relieved to not have grass tickling his face any longer. The Keyblade, now no longer glowing, still hadn't left his hand and he was glad for it. Though it was quite mysterious and seemed to be having a weird, and possibly beneficial effect on him (as evidenced by those "glowing moments"), its presence was a comforting and welcoming one. Now sitting on his bum, Sora took a look around his surroundings.

He appeared to be in some sort of large grassy field with a few rough patches of dirt here and there. There was a long metal fence with multiple signs hanging on both sides behind him as well as multiple trees and small bushes.

Three log stumps sat directly behind him. If he squinted, Sora was sure he could see dents and scratches in those logs. A part of him wondered what could make those scratches for they seemed too neat and precise to be from a wild animal.

To his left, an opening in the fence was located as well as a worn dirt path lead in and out of the field. In the far corner was a small lake that was connected to a stream that laid horizontally to the opening.

The stream was wide enough that Sora knew from a simple glance that he wouldn't be able to jump it and reach the small area behind that was blocked off in the back by mountainous terrain. Luckily, there seemed to be nothing of major importance there unless you counted some more trees and bushes important. The lake was around the size of the small pool that was nestled in the shade at Destiny Islands.

Just as he was thinking of it, Sora felt a pang as he remembered talking with Kairi and Selphie while all three of them were sticking their feet in together. They had just been laughing at some joke Sora had made at Tidus' expense when said boy overheard from walking nearby and pushed Sora face-first into the pool.

He remembered getting so mad and chasing Tidus all over the islet only for them to fall into a heap of struggling bodies that was kicking up sand all over. Kairi and Selphie were playfully shrieking and running around in the sand, pretending it was snow and confetti. He fondly remembered Riku's laughter and Wakka shaking his head while teasing them on as they surveyed the entire thing from up above in the treehouse.

The smiles on Kairi and Selphie's faces, that playful glint in Tidus' eyes, Wakka's reproachful yet amused expression, Riku's laughter, Destiny Islands – Sora found himself missing it all very much that very moment. It seemed so long ago that his only worries was making sure to pick up something to eat for him and his mom and working on the raft to the outside world alongside his friends. Thinking of it all, thinking of the possibility of never seeing them again, of never having such moments with his closest people again...

Sora suddenly felt lost. And he hated it.

With a surprising amount of effort, Sora ignored his sudden emotional torment in favor for finishing looking around. In another far corner, was a stone sculpture of sorts. The word 'monument' came to mind as he gazed at it from far away. If there was anything to read about it or on it, he didn't think he'd able to at this time. The night, while young, was steadily getting older and darker while he sat there.

Overall, the area seemed pretty safe for now. He couldn't hear or see anything except some ants nearby, so whoever inhabited this world must be sleeping or elsewhere.

He felt a familiar weight on his shoulder. The young man shifted his head to the side to make room for Jiminy who had crawled out of his hood to look around.

With an eyebrow raised, Jiminy gave the field a wondering glance. His eyes were so busy on their surroundings that he hadn't noticed the Keyblade. "My, my... what do we have here?"

Sora shrugged his shoulder, keeping in mind of Jiminy. "Not entirely sure, but I guess it gets used a lot, judging by all the dirt patches. But I think it gets more use in the daytime."

The cricket nodded once, accepting the thought. "Speaking of time, we should probably find somewhere safe until it _is_ daytime."

Sora blinked before looking up at a swift speed. The movement was so sudden that Jiminy fell off his shoulder, but Sora didn't notice. Sure enough, he could see the countless lights of stars twinkling in the night sky. The brunet hadn't even noticed while he was surveying the landscape surrounding him.

He hardly heard the small admonishment from Jiminy for moving so abruptly without warning, but did make sure the cricket was safely back in his hood before getting up to stand. Once he was, he than began trying to dust off his knees and clothes with one hand. The other held fast to the Keyblade, just in case the area proved to be unsafe while his attention was divided.

Every now and then, he would look up at the stars. He couldn't help but to listlessly glanced over them all with anxiousness. One of those lights, just one of them, has to have Riku and Kairi on there waiting for him. And he wanted to get there as fast as possible, but for now...

Sighing, he moved to exit the area through the nearby dirt path. As serene as this area was, it was not the best place to rest for the night. However, if he was right about it being used often during the day, hopefully some form of settlement will be nearby for Sora to find shelter in.

Sora followed the dirt path past a forest area with yet another, but smaller, stream, until he came upon what he guessed was the main road. It must have been given how wide the path was. Now, he just had to choose which way to go.

A glance to the left showed him a path leading into a forest with some of the tallest and largest trees he's ever seen. More forest.

A glance to the right showed him a path leading into some far away structure. Past it, he was positive he saw the outlines of buildings.

It wasn't hard for him to decide to walk towards the structure.

It was several minutes before he was close enough to see any distinguishing features of the structure, or as he had come to realize, structures – or rather buildings. A whole village of them surrounded by extraordinarily high walls. A large sign hung overhead the entrance to the village reading 'The Village Hidden in the Leaves'.

"Konohagakure?" Sora glanced up and down between the sign and the village as his mind worked to recall anything he could about the word. He absently heard the scritch-scratch of Jiminy's pencil as he wrote in his journal, no doubt writing about the surroundings and making his own assessments.

Dismissing the Keyblade, Sora walked forward and entered the village.

* * *

Naruto yawned loudly as he walked the hidden alleyways of Konoha. His feet made soft pats on the ground. Tiredness clouded his mind as he foggily traced his steps back home. He had spent the latter part of the afternoon on the Hokage Mountain. Naruto liked to think he was spending his time there thinking, but if he was to be honest with himself, he was stalling.

Ever since he and his team had come home from Nami no Kuni, his dreams had been… dark, to say the least. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if it was just a one-time thing, but he had been having the same dream non-stop for the past two weeks. It was about one thing and one thing only.

Shadows. He wasn't exactly sure how to describe them as anything else.

They were small, yet that didn't lessen how disturbing they appeared. Their bodies hunched over and their hands tipped with claws sharp enough to gut a person; eyes that glowed an eerie bright yellow that was in such a contrast with their all black bodies. Their movements were sporadic and unlike anything he's ever seen before. They were, for lack of knowing of better words, inhuman.

He saw them everywhere and not just in his dreams anymore. They could be on the ground, or in his home, or even in people. Naruto swore they were staring him down and waiting for the perfect time to strike just as they had done in his nightmares.

It wasn't so bad in the daylight, but at night, it almost appeared as if the dark tendrils of the night were moving on their own. Aside from patrolling shinobi and those returning or embarking from and on late night missions, Naruto knew that no one would be out at this hour so he didn't fear people right now.

It still didn't make him less wary about buildings that were suddenly too tall and alleyways that were suddenly too dark. The blond shivered a little at as he walked around a shop's shadow.

Naruto made it to his building with little effort or distraction and began climbing up the stairs. It was a good thing that they were given the next day off. He was hoping to use the day to get some form of sleep during the daylight hours. He just needed to find something to do while he waited for the sun to come up. Perhaps he could get to work on next week's budget? He would be getting paid in a couple days and he had been putting off the much needed budget planning because he knew he would already have to stretch his pay for the next month.

Nodding at his vague plans for the night, Naruto didn't notice the shadow he passed by on the way to the door. It wasn't until he felt a hand on his shoulder did he even notice that he wasn't alone. He slapped the hand off in his panic and turned on his heel, kunai suddenly in right hand and at the trespasser's throat.

"Whoa-ho-ho! I did _not_ expect that!"

Naruto made an audible 'eh' at the exclamation. The voice didn't sound sarcastic or even scared as much as surprised and somewhat sleepy. It was as if he had just shocked someone out of their slumber. He unconsciously dropped his arm and moved closer to the voice to get a better look at the owner of the voice.

The person was about his height if not slightly taller and had some really crazy bed hair. He couldn't distinguish the color from black or brown because of the dim lighting. However, he could most certainly see eyes that were of a lighter hue than his. Mesmerized, Naruto hadn't realized he had gotten so close until the person spoke again.

"Uh… I realize we haven't seen each other for a while, but back up some! I need air to breath and you're hogging it." Blushing at the teasing chide he had received, Naruto backed away just enough to where he was back in the light. The other person followed him without prompting.

Once fully in the light, Naruto's jaw dropped as gears started turning in his mind. "No way… Sora?"

Sora's grin shone through the darkness at the calling of his name. "I told you I'd come back, didn't I?"


	4. P1 - Part 4

There were so many questions running through Naruto's mind as he took in the familiar person who was now in his apartment with him. They were coming and going so quickly that it made his head spin.

Where have you been? How have you been? Is everything okay? How'd you get back here? How long will you be here? Will you leave again? Will you take me with you?

A hum reverberated in Naruto's throat, a crude attempt to staunch the groan he wanted to let out from frustration. The sound promoted Sora to turn and look at him, a searching look in his eye before he relaxed again. Naruto made a 'hmm' sound in an absent-minded manner at his thoughts and reached up to pull his headband off. Sora, from his position on Naruto's worn-looking couch, watched the blond curiously. "Are you okay?"

Naruto hmmed in response and looked away. He went to the plain looking kitchenette, putting his headband on the counter as he did. As Naruto rummaged through the refrigerator, Sora looked around the apartment.

It was a compact one; with a narrow hallway that led to the entrance and two doors on opposite sides of the wall next to it. From his memory, Sora knew that one lead to the bedroom and the other led to the bathroom.

The room formed a rough t-shape with one side being dedicated to kitchen and dining and the other being the actual living room. On the living room side, there was a door leading out to a circular balcony with plants growing from pots could be seen. The furniture inside seemed stable and well-cared for and the many posters and trinkets were entertaining the first couple times he looked at them, but there was no denying that Sora was starting to find himself a little bored.

Naruto was busy preparing dinner and had already declined Sora's offers to help out. To be fair, it was probably for the best since the best Sora could actually make was frozen dinners and canned goods – things that Naruto didn't seem to have an abundance of.

Jiminy had fallen asleep inside of his hood back when they were waiting for Naruto. When Sora had tried to discreetly nudge him awake a while ago, his index finger got violently swatted at by a cricket-sized umbrella. Despite his alert disposition when awake, Jiminy was a rather heavy sleeper.

He supposed he could write down what had happened so far for Jiminy, but that lazy part of him wanted to procrastinate and give the cricket a verbal recap in the morning.

His eyes continued to drift listlessly before catching upon a picture frame that was placed on bookshelf. Interest peaked; he got up and sauntered towards the table to get a closer look. When he was close enough to see the picture, he couldn't stop himself from laughing out loud at what he saw. Out of his peripherals, he saw Naruto jump and look over the fridge door.

"Sora-niichan?" He asked, a confused look on his face. It turned to a flush when Sora's head turned his head towards him at the name.

"'Sora-niichan'? You're going to call me that again?"

Naruto shrugged noncommittally, but his eyes were shifting between Sora's face and the fridge. "Yeah, I mean, you acted sort of like a big brother for me at least back then… You don't mind, do you?"

The Keyblade Wielder shook his head; his cheeks dusted a slight pink. Sora turned his head back to the picture while saying, "It's fine. I'm just not used to it. I mean, we only hung around each other for that one afternoon and day."

Naruto gave a slight nod to that before he pulled out the last of his ingredients and closed the door. His eyes seemed lighter than they were earlier. "You don't have anyone at home who called you that?"

"Nope. Most of the kids are at my age – usually they call me something like goofball or that annoying twat." There was a shared laugh between them before Sora picked up the picture frame and held it up so that Naruto could see. "Hey, Naruto? Who are these people? Friends?"

The blond turned around to see the picture Sora was pointing at. A perplexed expression appeared on his face. "Uh… kind of? It's more like co-workers than friendship, to be honest."

"… Co-workers?" Seeing Sora's blank expression, Naruto backtracked.

"Yeah, as in assigned teammates. Shinobi have to work in teams of four when they're genin – or low-ranked ninja." Naruto went back over the definition at seeing Sora's baffled look. He leaned his back against the counter, giving Sora some time to digest this information before continuing, "I mean, I don't think any of us hate each other, but things have been… uh…"

The blond's eyes looked upward as if the word he was looking for would be up on the ceiling.

"Strained?"

A little surprised by the word choice, Naruto looked back at Sora when the word was offered. A strange smile was on the brunet's face; the knowing kind that only someone in a similar situation could give. The blond could remember seeing it all the time when talking to Iruka about his team or other issues that recently come up. He faintly wondered why Sora would have such a smile.

Rather than voicing his concern, he offered a dimmed grin in return. "Yeah. Something like that."

Sora gave him a searching look. Naruto's smile became a little smaller as the other's eyebrows crinkled in what he could only describe as content disappointment. He quickly turned around, his focus now on the ingredients he had taken out and mincing them for the dinner he had in mind.

He tried to relax himself and his mind, but it was hard to keep those thoughts out of his head. Of course Sora was disappointed in him, nothing new. He made many people look at him in such a way. It had gotten easier to ignore those pointed stares Hiruzen or Iruka would give him when he failed his tests and it will get easier to ignore Sora's frowns. Naruto gave a shuddering breath, fisting his left hand.

He really didn't like his mind sometimes.


	5. P1 - Part 5

Sora didn't know how much longer he could stand it.

If there was something he could never stand – it was awkward silence. Just thinking of being in such a situation was enough to make him frustrated enough to... well, he wasn't sure what, but _something_ was better than _nothing_.

That was why he was sitting across from Naruto and picking anxiously at the food Naruto had pushed towards him. It was not that the food was bad – far from it. The bowl of chilled vegetables and fruits was delicious (he absently wondered if this was a common meal in this world).

It was that Naruto refused to meet his eyes that were the problem. Memories of first meeting Naruto, of that quivering and emotionally despondent kid flushed through his mind with each bite. He would like to think that Naruto was just tired since it was so late, but Naruto didn't seem as subdued earlier.

Perhaps the subject of Naruto's teammates depressed him? He surely hoped not. Sora gnawed a little at the end of his eating utensil, trying to think of a way to get the strange air to dissipate.

"Hey, Naruto," As if spooked, Naruto's head snapped up to meet Sora's eyes. The brunet felt more confident on continuing when Naruto kept his gaze, "Do you remember what I told you about my home?"

The blond tilted his head slightly. He appeared a little put-off by the sudden conversation but if his contemplating look was something to go by, it was a conversation he'll entertain. "Yeah, uh, Destiny Isles?"

Sora's grin was illuminating. "Yep! My town is named after it; Destiny _Islands_." He waved his right index finger around like he was twirling a wand as he continued. "My friend, Riku, and I are from there. You remember what I told you about Riku?"

"That he's a smart-ass?"

The brunet sputtered while Naruto snickered. "W-what?"

Still snickering, the blond said, "You told me he liked doing things on his own and would tease you a lot. Called you shortie and everything else a little kid can get away with. Sounds like a smart-ass to me."

Sora reached over the table to nudge Naruto's right arm playfully, a lighthearted grin on his face. "He's not that bad – Riku's just acts really stubborn and can come off as kind of mean if you don't know him too well." Naruto was too busy snorting to notice Sora's smile drop for a moment.

As quick as it dropped, it was regained when Naruto turned to him and asked rather inquisitively, "By the way, where is Riku? You talked about him so much back then that I thought he'd be with you when you came back."

The brunet took a noticeably long while to answer. Naruto didn't say anything, but he looked worriedly at Sora. The air around him was conflicted, depressed, but determined despite it. "... I don't really know, but I'm sure I'll find him. Then, you can meet him."

"...?"

Sora saw himself at a crossroads. His eyes drifted down as he started to think of what to say here.

Right now could be the most opportune time to talk to someone besides Donald, Goofy, Jiminy, or everyone back in Traverse Town about the Heartless. It wasn't that he couldn't talk to the others, but rather he just couldn't bring himself to mention it to them.

Despite the assurances of Merlin's help, the old wizard always seemed to be rushing about in their brief talk so Sora hadn't thought of asking. Talking to Leon and Aerith, in general, has recently become suffocating because of his promise to seal the keyholes. While he was determined to fulfill it, a part of him couldn't help but acknowledge just how big the Other Sky was and the countless worlds that seemed to dwell there. Yuffie was always bouncing around and much preferred tagging along to fight Heartless than talking about them. Cid was willing to help through munny and supplies, but talking? Heart to heart? Forget that – Sora isn't sure if he should even attempt it.

Donald and Goofy, for all the battle training they had done in their home world, actually knew even less than _he_ did about the Heartless. Jiminy was the most well-versed with them out of their group. However, he was tight lipped about what exactly happened when his world disappeared and Sora didn't want to press. He felt the same way about talking with the Fairy Godmother since her world was lost as well. And Riku…

He wasn't even sure if Riku was still in Traverse Town anymore, if he was honest. Sora had convinced Donald and Goofy to let him search before they left (with the two of the adamantly telling him they'd help out). They didn't find even a hair of him or any word of Kairi arriving in town.

With all that said, what exactly would the information do for Naruto?

The only reason Sora had come to understand the situation so well was because of what happened to his own world. If not for that, Sora was sure he'd be having a hard time wrapping his head around all that's happened so far.

Sora looked up from his meal to see Naruto had already gone back to tentatively eating his food. His eyes were staring out into space while he chewed slowly.

Naruto has never seen a Heartless and likely never will thanks his world's protection and – Sora's expression hardened with determination – if he found the keyhole, then Naruto's world will be free from the Heartless.

But first…

"When we were younger, Riku and I used to go exploring around our town." Like he had hoped, Naruto's eyes lit with curiosity.

"Really? What were you guys looking for?"

Sora shrugged. "Eh, just stuff to do really. One day, we could be helping out the fishermen with their catches and another, we could be helping the grocery lady with her stock. Most of the time, we played games."

"What kind?" Naruto asked, no longer hungry for food but answers. He wanted to know – are those things that little kids did with their friends?

"Well, mostly races or fighting with wooden swords." Sora took a bite as he thought back to those times. "Riku would win a lot of them… The only thing I remember beating him almost every single time was a staring contest. Even now, he can't beat me. The only other one I can beat him at is tree climbing. It's great. He could beat all of our friends at most of the games we play, but I always win staring contests and tree climbing. No one can beat me at them!"

Sora snickered as his memories. It always amused him how much better he was at climbing things than Riku despite the other teaching him in the first place. He found himself drawn out of his reminiscing when he heard Naruto giggle.

Looking at the other, he noticed a strange glint in his eyes that Sora could recognize as mischief. "Oh, really? I bet _I_ can beat you at climbing~."

The brunet snorted at the declaration. "Yeah, right. Don't make bets that you'll lose on, Naru."

But Naruto didn't look deterred. In fact, the mischievous glint was going full force. It made Sora a little nervous. "I won't! In fact, I'll even do it with just my feet."

Sputtering ensued from the older of the two. "Just your _what_?"

"Hehehe…"

"Naruto, what does that _mean_? Just your fee – what does that _**mean**_?"

* * *

Naruto was having trouble falling asleep. He had thought their talk from earlier would've exhausted his furiously active conscience, but it would appear he was wrong. He heaved a silent sigh – this wouldn't be the first time a plan of his didn't work out.

He turned on his right side in an effort to get comfortable. His thoughts, however, seemed to have other intentions. With the world, including his apartment, now covered with the darkness of night, he should have fallen asleep hours ago.

However, the shadows still haunted his mind; he felt fidgety and more awake than asleep. Not even Sora's bright presence seemed to staunch their efforts to scare the lights of of him. He turned to his left side, giving up on sleep to instead stare out of his window at the waning moon.

It was almost a blink or he'd miss it moment, but Naruto swore he saw it. Outside the window, a star twinkled faintly before disappearing from the sky completely. Normally, Naruto wouldn't pay it any mind, but then he saw two other stars close by blink out not even a second later. His breathing stopped and he stared at the empty spots as if he was expecting the stars to suddenly come back.

It didn't.

Naruto sat up straight and raced to his window. Did that just happen? Was he dreaming? Stars... stars don't just disappear like that, did they? Naruto wouldn't know, but goodness if he didn't feel a sense of dread the longer he stared at the night sky. What in the world was going on?

"'Ru? Is there something wrong?" A sleepy voice behind him broke Naruto's train of thought. Turning he saw, Sora standing up and rubbing an eye while the other searched his face. Sora was about his size, so Naruto had lent him his pajamas for the night.

Naruto wanted to tell Sora what he just saw, but found that he couldn't say anything else but lies.

"No." _Yes._

"I thought I saw something, but it was nothing." _I saw something, but I'm not sure what it was._

"Everything's fine, so..." _It feels like something is wrong…_

"You can go back to sleep, Sora-niichan." Naruto turned around to look out the window again, not even bothering to see Sora's expression. Instead, he searched the sky. Maybe he was hallucinating or wasn't seeing things right. Or maybe he was super tired from all the training or -

Naruto didn't have the chance to finish his thought when he felt himself cocooned by a blanket on one side and the warmth of Sora's body on the other. He turned his head to face Sora's sleepy, yet teasing smile.

"Wha-?"

"I don't know about you, but I've never passed up a chance to stay up at night." Sora said, taking Naruto's moment of surprise as an opportunity to pull Naruto into a half hug. He then guided them both into sitting down on Naruto's bed, still facing the window. The blond couldn't help but blink confusedly at the other. He went as far as to say he didn't get it, but only found himself even more stumped when Sora shrugged in response.

"My mom stays up with me whenever I can't sleep. We would talk forever... and then suddenly, I blink and the sun is in the sky. We can do that, too, if you want." Sora spoke like it was no big deal to stay up into the wee hours of the morning. But that wasn't what stuck in Naruto's mind.

"Your mom?" Sora made a noise in the back of his throat in affirmation. He was blinking frequently as he tried to stay awake. He almost missed Naruto's eager, "What's she like?"

"She's really cool. Mama works a lot, so she's usually pretty tired, but..." Naruto noted how soft Sora's voice got as he spoke of his mother. "She jokes around a lot and she really sucks at fishing, but she always joins me outside whenever she sees me doing it. Her food is awesome, you _have_ to try her shrimp stew. And... Mama is always there when I need her."

When Sora turned to face Naruto, there was an almost wistful tone of voice as he said, "I think you'd like her, Naruto."

"And your dad?"

"... He died when I was five years old."

"Oh... my dad is dead, too. And my mom. I don't think I ever met them." Naruto muttered the last part as he tried to think back on his earliest days.

Sora couldn't help it, but he snorted, not at Naruto's situation, but at the irony of the what Naruto had said the last time in regards to his parents. When Naruto turned to him, eyes wide in disbelief, Sora could only put his hands up in a placating manner. "Considering that you told me they were on 'vacation' the last time around, I'm just glad you're telling the truth now."

Naruto's face reddened as he sputtered in indignation, "I was four!"

He then backed away for Sora brought his face so close, the tips of their noses were touching.

"I know, I was there." His voice was light and it wasn't long before the teasing smile on Sora's face was met with giggling on Naruto's side. They continued to banter on like this, carefree of the night slowly turning into morning. It was when Naruto yawned and leaned his head against Sora's shoulder a couple hours later that Sora paused in mid story about how he had met Riku. Sora laughed at the other's obvious sleepiness as he tried to stay awake, but the older boy shushed him every time.

Right when Naruto was about to nod off, he heard Sora say,"Hey, Naru?"

Naruto hmed softly, his eyes open by just a crack. "Yea?"

"I want to know about what you've been up to, too. Like those people in that picture. I want to know all about them."

"Ya mean my team? You can just meet them, ya know... we all live in the same village."

"Really? Can I meet them tomorrow, then?"

"Yea... tomorrow..." Naruto wasn't able to say anything more because he finally drifted off to sleep. Sora couldn't help the mischievous smirk that he had seen on his own mother's face after she had gotten him to sleep during one of these late night talk sessions. Talking the heck out of someone really did exhaust them.

Not only that, but he had scored a guide through this way-too-big village so he might have a better chance of finding the keyhole. Plus, he'll be able to see more of Naruto's world than he was able to when Sora had first came here.

If Naruto had managed to stay awake for just a moment longer, he might have been able to see yet another star vanish from the night sky. He might have seen Sora's face lose just a bit of color at seeing the sight.


	6. P1 - Part 6

Sora had difficulty getting up that morning. When he initially opened his eyes, he closed them right after. What he saw wasn't familiar and while he has gotten used to sleeping in unfamiliar places, that didn't mean it wouldn't surprise him when he first awakens. The first couple of minutes after he had awoken was spent refreshing himself last night's events.

He remembered… him, Donald, and Goofy agreeing to part ways temporarily. When he landed in this new world, he had made his way into the village nearby - Konohagakure. With his memories to guide him, he made his way to the apartment of his friend – Naruto. And now he was, more or less, crashing at Naruto's place while he waited for Donald and Goofy to come back around.

Of course, he planned on using this time to find the world's keyhole, but he also wanted to reconnect with Naruto. For a long time, he had thought he'd never see him again. Once he finds the keyhole, there's not a guarantee they'll see each other again afterwards, either. He had better make this time count.

Sora was pulled out of his musings when he heard someone cough. Opening his eyes again, he found himself staring into the unimpressed eyes of Jiminy Cricket.

"I reckon you have an explanation for where we are?" The cricket had what Sora supposed was an eyebrow arched (do crickets have eyebrows?) as he stared into Sora's eyes. The brunet gave Jiminy an easy smile and was about to regale him with the wondrous tale of him re-meeting a friend, when he realized something a little off about the scene.

"Hey, how did you get out of my hoodie? Wasn't it hanging from the door? Did you fly? Can crickets fly, Jiminy?" Sora's questions were rapid fire. Jiminy blanched at the scrutinizing gaze he was getting.

"Now, hold on – don't get distracted!" Jiminy scolded, wagging a gloved finger in Sora's face. Sora laughed quietly; while he respected Jiminy, there was something funny about such a small being giving him orders. The cricket looked less than impressed by his laughing. Sora settled down and peered at the bed. Naruto was still snoring away.

"He's something of a heavy sleeper," Jiminy said, staring at the blond curiously. "He didn't seem the slightest bit fazed when I was walking on his back."

Sora pointedly ignored the fact that Jiminy didn't have enough substantial weight to wake someone up with his presence in the first place. Instead, he asked what the cricket was doing walking all over his sleeping friend.

His response was a huff.

"What did you expect for me to do when I woke up in this room? I only remember as much as the stars in the sky passing by when you were walking, but after that I must have fallen asleep." Sora watched the cricket pace back and forth as he recalled last night from his point of view. Jiminy stopped pacing to look back up at Sora, smiling lightly.

"Mind filling in the blanks?"

Smiling back, Sora nodded and started to stand up. After a moment of stretching, Sora knelt back down to an extend a hand for Jiminy to climb onto. When he was sitting comfortably in the cusp of his hand, Sora opened the bedroom door and walked out into the hallway. He closed the door silently behind him.

Once in the kitchen, Sora set the cricket down on the counter. Jiminy pulled out his journal and help up his pen, ready to write. "Alright then. Let's start with your friend. Did you happen to meet last night?"

Sora was burrowing through a cupboard, frowning slightly. "Uh, well, no. Naruto and I met when I was seven and he was five. I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but I ended up in his world - this world.

"I wandered around a bit until I found him on top of this really big mountain." At that, Sora made his way to the window behind the counter and opened the blinds. He wanted to try and point out the mountain. He remembered it being very visible from almost anywhere he walked in the village the night before, but it had been too dark then to make out its features. The sunlight briefly blinded them both, but once their eyes adjusted, there was no end to the awe both of them felt.

Beyond the glass of the window was a village of sloping roofs and lived in buildings. Despite the early morning, they could see people bustling not just in the streets, but on top of the buildings. Sora likened the style of buildings to his own world's, but made out of concrete and built to shelter several families in a close space. Sometimes, he could see nature taking over parts of buildings. The people didn't seem to think of it as an intrusion; instead, they acted as though the branches and vines clinging to the sides of buildings were extensions of man made structures by jumping and running on top of them, too.

"Amazing!" Jiminy exclaimed. "This has to be one of the more busiest worlds we've come across besides Traverse Town or Disney Castle."

Sora blinked at Jiminy. "You think so?"

The cricket nodded as his eyes scanned the bustling village. "The worlds Donald, Goofy, and I had come across before meeting you had been having trouble with the Heartless. The amount of people we would've seen normally is lessened because people are hiding from them or they've turned into Heartless, too. The worlds we've seen recently are less affected, or we just weren't in places many people would be at anyway."

"Ah…" Sora hummed as he thought of the previous worlds.

Suddenly, his eyes caught a certain monument in the backdrop of the village. He excitedly pointed it out to Jiminy. "Look, Jiminy! Do you see that mountain with those faces? That's where I met Naruto."

The cricket jumped from the counter onto the windowsill in between the crack in the curtains Sora made to peer outside the window. He was frowning thoughtfully as he examined the mountain from afar.

"I bet the folks around here carved in those faces. Now, I wonder why?" The question didn't seem to be aimed at him, but Sora shrugged his shoulders anyway.

"I don't think I ever asked Naruto and I didn't talk with anyone else but him when I was here." At hearing Sora speak, Jiminy turned to Sora to find the him rummaging through a cabinet.

"Really? Not even his parents?"

"After we met each other, he let me sleep here for the night. I couldn't see anyone else here so I asked him. He said they were dead. Naruto lives here alone." Sora's lips were pulled into a half-frown, one Jiminy matched with a full on frown.

"Well, that can't be right, kids belong with their parents!" After all, his charge, Pinocchio would have been far safer if he had went to school and then home to his father that day rather than gallivanting off to that wretched Pleasure Island.

Just then, Sora groaned aloud. The sound startled the cricket out of his thoughts and caused him to run across the counter to where Sora was in alarm. "What happened?"

Sora looked down from the overhead cabinet in with a pout. "Ramen."

The cricket was immediately confused. "Pardon?"

"I've checked in all of the cabinets and there's nothing but ramen as food." Sora gestured to the tiny kitchen's cabinets with a wave of his hand as he vented his frustration. "There's hardly anything else but the stuff. Which is amazing in how little else there is in the first place!"

Jiminy blinked slowly at the Keyblade Wielder. "Do you mean there's so much ramen that you can't see anything else or that there's not much else in there besides ramen?"

"The last one," Sora huffed, marching to the refrigerator and pulling it open. There was a moment of silence before he said, "The only things in here is expired milk and a half-full container of mixed vegetables."

Jiminy perked up at the sound of vegetables. "By chance, is there any broccoli in that container?"

The cricket had the decency to blush when met with Sora's unbelieving stare.

"You're kidding me, right?"

"It's been a while since I've had a one! Most worlds we've come across don't appear to grow them." The cricket defended. Sora didn't look convinced but looked back into the refrigerator.

"... Yeah, there's one. Do you want it?" He looked back up with a raised eyebrow.

"Wouldn't that be stealing from Naruto?"

Sora frowned. He seemed to take a moment to think before he lit up and said, "I'll buy him some more; I made sure to get some munny before we left."

Jiminy didn't seem as convinced.

"I would still rather we ask first." Sora gave him a lopsided frown but shrugged with no further argument.

"Okay…" He went over to the counter Jiminy was standing on and extended a hand for the cricket to climb onto. "He should be up by now."

* * *

*Apparently broccoli is a "man-made" vegetable that originated from Italy about 2000 or so years ago. Also, crickets like leafy greens and potatoes. While the site I referred to claimed potatoes as a cricket fav, I went for broccoli for Jiminy to kind of drive in the "voice of guiding hand" thing he has going for him.


	7. P1 - Part 7

When Naruto first woke up the next morning, he didn't get up immediately. It didn't matter much to him that he was half hanging off the bed; his only gripe was that his feet stung a little from hitting the floorboards so suddenly. His mind drifted on a thin line of consciences. The logical voice in his mind made sure he was fully aware that he needed to get up eventually, but another voice, one much more tired and persuasive, convinced him to stay in bed. After all, he has nowhere to go until the late afternoon. It was his day off, after al-

"It's morning, Naruto! Time to get up!"

Naruto jumped in his bed, frantically searching with his eyes for the source of the shout. He froze suddenly and the room was silent for a moment as he took in what just happened. Then, he mustered up his energy to turn his head to Sora's beaming face and hid a wince at the intensity of the other's blinding smile. It was like the sun had been personified into this very smiley person standing over his bed. While Iruka had once commented that Naruto that once he got going, Naruto could be pretty smiley himself - Naruto was nowhere near that sort of mood when he had just woken up.

That's why, with all of the feeling in his heart, Naruto gave the brunet his most honest reply.

"No."

Sora stuck his tongue out at him, prompting Naruto to raise an eyebrow at Sora's impish attitude. "What? C'mon, I've been up for almost an hour already and I'm getting bored!"

Naruto yawned before he replying, looking up at Sora while lying on his side as he did so. "Huh? Why were you up so early?"

He got a shrug in response.

"No real reason honestly. I did try going back to sleep, but after a while, it gets boring sitting around doing nothing," Sora said while moving to sit down on the bed next to Naruto. The blond thought about refusing to move just to mess with Sora, but he decided not to and shifted a little to make room. Sora took the offered space with a grin. "Besides, you promised me you'd show me around your village today."

"... I did?" Naruto furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to rewind his blurry memories of the night before for that particular promise. Sure enough, his own memories confirmed did in fact make that promise - and Naruto was forced withheld his grimace.

It wasn't that he didn't want to show off the places and select people that made Konohagakure dear to him to the person who made him realize such things existed. It was just that he wasn't so sure if he had the pep needed to drag the incarnation of the blinding sun around at eight in the morning.

And he made that clear with him saying (though he could hear it come off as more of a whine),"Can't it wait until noon?"

Sora response was to flash him a cheeky smile that sent a warning bell off in Naruto's mind.

"Nope!" Sora chirped, "Now c'mon, get up!"

Naruto let out a surprised 'eep' when Sora suddenly tugged him out of bed and was pulling him towards the kitchen, "Let's eat breakfast and head out!"

At the mention of breakfast, Naruto's mind flashed to his cabinets filled to the brim of instant ramen and internally _screeched_. Sora found himself awkwardly stumbling along as he had not been prepared to suddenly become the one pulled around. Naruto all but manhandled him towards the apartment's front entrance instead. For someone who was acting so grumpy for waking up early, Naruto was definitely making up for it with his sudden burst of energy.

In the midst of trying to match Naruto's frantic footsteps, he was able to catch the end of Naruto's garbled explanation for his change in mood.

"You know what, let's not have breakfast just yet. I mean, it's not like you're in Konohagakure everyday so let's just go ahead and kick off the tour starting with not my apartment. Like, literally anywhere else than here… like the training grounds on the other fucking side of the village."

Snapping out of his daze at Naruto's last sentence, Sora planted his feet on the floor and pulled his arm out of Naruto's grasp, "Whoa, whoa!"

A little ways ahead, Naruto stopped and turned to face him, an eyebrow raised at him. "What?"

"Naruto, it's cool if you want to wait till later to eat, but I kind of want to get dressed before we head out."

Naruto stared at him blankly for a moment. Then, he looked down at Sora's clothes and then his own before his eyes widened.

The nearby neighbors found their early morning disturbed by a round of colorful curses and a bout of cheerful laughter from the young shinobi's apartment. An hour later, Sora and Naruto left the apartment, fully clothes and ready to face the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

* * *

I can't help but to laugh when reading the reviews I'm getting on FFN. It's funny because none of you know what I know and by saying one thing, I could spoil a lot.

I will say this:

Romance is not planned to become a true part of the story until after "Part 5" of this story's planned parts. However, the point in which romance is introduced as a mainstay in the story is also the planned point where canon divergence begins. The point in the Naruto plotline is already good to go - it's the Kingdom Hearts plotline I'm waiting for (KH3) to pick a good point to diverge.

I said this on AO3, so you guys might not know this but: While this is an ever-evolving story that I'm always tweaking, there is still a defined beginning, middle, and end. I know what's going to happen and I know how most of it will happen. The biggest obstacle is translating the rest of the 99.99% of the story you guys have not seen into writing... however long that takes…

Seriously, you guys are not seeing the hell that's my plot notes that I am seeing. **Mind you** , I do constantly tell y'all to **look at the BYR page**. I see no reason to "warn" people constantly about the future content of this story when the summary above contains the link to said page.

With that said, please be patient and wish me luck! :)


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